PLAYCMF.EXE ?

Hmm... you know, I was skeptical at first, since I have just yesterday tried one of the versions found in VGMPF wiki... but I have tried once more today with a random version found (1.01 from 1990, included with MID2CMF package) and it sounded very-very close, if not identical to the original game sound. It may be something in the versions, or just my ears really 😀, and while I still like how Aztec tool sounds more... this works for me, thanks.

CMF format was created by Creative, so it would be logical that Creative's PLAYCMF is the most appropriate tool...

Download Xmod over here https://k1n9duk3.shikadi.net/xmod.html

Its a level editor for modern windows for Xargon that was made recently. In addition to this level editor, the archive includes a dos command line CMF player for testing out CMF music (which is what several early Epic Megagames games such as Xargon and Jill of the Jungle use).

BTW, there is an older version of SBFMDRV for PLAYCMF that will play back CMF files in stereo. AFAIK NONE of the newer versions will play back in stereo, only mono.

Attached is a ZIP with the files.

Thanks, @rfnagel, for your suggestion.

I am sticking with the utilities that @dukeofurl has brought to my attention, as they seem to be simpler to use (no need for the driver TSR) and produce the sound that I expect. Can't comment on the stereo playback from those, but otherwise and from what I hear, PLAYCMF.EXE seems to match Creative player from MID2CMF that I mentioned above output-wise.

The utilities that dukeofurl linked to sound just like the original Creative Labs PLAYCMF.EXE with the newer SBFMDRV.COM loaded in (playback in mono). It appears that the PLAYCMF.EXE included with the utilities that dukeofurl linked to has an automatic mono playback version of SBFMDRV.COM embedded in it, quite cool 😀

Anyhow, the original Creative Labs PLAYCMF.EXE with the older SBFMDRV.COM loaded has the stereo effect, although, I don't think that any games played their CMF format music files in stereo.

Interesting. Would yound mind sharing some CMF tunes that tkae advantage of stereo sound?

ludicrous_peridot wrote on 2025-05-14, 05:36:

Interesting. Would yound mind sharing some CMF tunes that tkae advantage of stereo sound?

I'm not at my computer right now, but I'll attach a few in a ZIP later.

Sorry for the late reply. Attached is a ZIP containing several example stereo CMF files. I selected out a few that have a large amount of stereo separation so the stereo effect can be heard easily.

Also contained in the ZIP are MP3 recordings of the included "JUG.CMF" file. One ("JUGMONO.MP3") is recorded using the newer version of "SBFMDRV.COM" that plays back in mono. The other is ("JUGSTREO.MP3") recorded using the older version of "SBFMDRV.COM" that plays back in stereo.

ludicrous_peridot wrote on 2025-05-14, 05:36:

Interesting. Would yound mind sharing some CMF tunes that tkae advantage of stereo sound?

Thanks.

This SBFM driver you have included is indeed special, so now I've switched to it in combination with Creative player from 1990. I was using before the one from XMOD project.

Ran into another interesting player, which I'd like to mention here. It's actually a part of the suite for MIDI processing for DOS MidiTools by Kevin Weiner. Author seems to have released the suite for free for personal use. In addition to MIDI files, it supports Creative CMF natively.

A very interesting feature is resident operation mode for the player and playlisit support.

Mode 1 relies on the underlying TSR mechanism, TesSeRact, to determine when it is absolutely safe to interrupt DOS i […]
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Mode 1 relies on the underlying TSR mechanism,
TesSeRact, to determine when it is absolutely safe to
interrupt DOS in order to play or pop up. These are
very stringent requirements, resulting in intermittent
play while heavy system activity is in progress, and
possibly no playing in certain applications.

Mode 2 adds use of the system timer (about 18 ticks
per second) to advance play. This permits play to
continue while running programs which otherwise would
not allow Play/R to operate at all. Any DOS activity
will temporarily suspend play, however. See warnings
for mode 3 below.

Mode 3 combines idle time processing with forced timer
stepping to assure high accuracy and continuous play
regardless of other system activity. While it is
unlikely that timer interrupts will cause problems,
this is technically "unsafe". High-speed operations
such as asynchronous port data transfers and local
area network activity may not work properly if
interrupted for even a short time. Critical functions
such as backups are not recommended while play is in
progress.

Users of 2/3/486 processors may select an additional
command line option, -c, to specify AT real-time clock
usage, in which case the mode 2 and 3 interrupt
interval changes to 5 milliseconds. Because of the
amount of system overhead, noticeable slowing of other
programs may occur.

I have only tried it with FM output, but it probably also works with MPU-401 connected devices:

Use -d, followed by the device name as shown to select one. Roland MPU-401 and compatibles -dmpu […]
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Use -d, followed by the device name as
shown to select one.

Roland MPU-401 and compatibles -dmpu
IBM PC Music Feature -dmfc
Sound Blaster MIDI interface -dsbmidi
Key Electronics MIDIator -dmidiator

The first 3 letters of the device name are sufficient.

As cool and feature rich it is though, the way instruments sound when playing back CMF via FM I personally don't find appealing.
Completely off topic, though, it may be a useful set of tools for background MIDI playback in DOS.